jobfacts

Street cleaners

SOC 2020 9222

Street cleaners clean, sweep and remove refuse from public thoroughfares.

Also calledRoad sweeperStreet orderlyEnvironmental cleanerRoad cleanerCleansing operativePublic realm operativeand 8 more titles
Typical full-time pay£27,6002025 Provisional
People in the job14,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month176↑ 4.4%on last year · 355th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time street cleaners earn, 2025
£27,600 typicaln/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%Not published
Median£27,600
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £27,600
London!£29,800
East Midlands!£27,600
Yorkshire and The Humber!£26,100
Wales!£25,300
North West!£24,200
North EastNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £27,600
London£29,800 (small sample)
East Midlands£27,600 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,100 (small sample)
Wales£25,300 (small sample)
North West£24,200 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £24,400
  • 2024 £26,200
  • 2025 Provisional£27,600
↑ 13% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 176 jobs for street cleaners are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026153
Jul 2026168
Jun 2026174
May 2026192
Apr 2026197
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026188
Jan 2026167
Dec 202598
Nov 2025176
Oct 2025215
Sept 2025207
Aug 2025172
Jul 2025202
Jun 2025206
May 2025215
Apr 2025158
Mar 2025182
Feb 2025185
Jan 2025137
Dec 202470
Nov 2024158
Oct 2024191
Sept 2024159
Aug 2024190
Jul 2024194
Jun 2024197
May 2024210
Apr 2024128
Mar 2024169
Feb 2024145
Jan 2024110
Dec 202378
Nov 202382
Oct 2023112
Sept 2023124
Aug 2023198
Jul 2023116
Jun 2023238
May 2023221
Apr 2023220
Mar 2023191
Feb 2023189
Jan 2023170
Dec 2022149
Nov 2022242
Oct 2022253
Sept 2022191
Aug 2022243
Jul 2022252
Jun 2022190
May 2022200
Apr 2022185
Mar 2022201
Feb 2022186
Jan 2022166
Dec 2021141
Nov 2021200
Oct 2021183
Sept 2021176
Aug 2021218
Jul 2021229
Jun 2021153
May 2021148
Apr 2021124
Mar 2021210
Feb 2021114
Jan 2021130
Dec 2020120
Nov 2020136
Oct 2020177
Sept 2020142
Aug 2020165
Jul 2020136
Jun 2020174
May 2020116
Apr 2020142
Mar 2020138
Feb 2020115
Jan 202096
Dec 201969
Nov 2019123
Oct 2019127
Sept 2019122
Aug 2019133
Jul 2019134
Jun 2019130
May 2019154
Apr 2019110
Mar 2019128
Feb 201998
Jan 2019117
Dec 201869
Nov 201879
Oct 2018134
Sept 2018123
Aug 2018118
Jul 2018127
Jun 2018144
May 2018160
Apr 2018112
Mar 2018137
Feb 201896
Jan 2018137
Dec 201792
Nov 2017137
Oct 2017135
Sept 2017123
Aug 2017134
Jul 2017136
Jun 2017166
May 2017142
Apr 2017130
Mar 2017145
Feb 2017113
Jan 201767
Is there a shortage of street cleaners?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthUsual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
5.4%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for elementary cleaning occupations, which includes street cleaners. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London69
Somerset11
Nottingham11
Manchester9
Highland8
City of Edinburgh7
Exeter7
Glasgow City7
Gloucester7
Salford7
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where street cleaners are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of street cleaners
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
72%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–44Not published
45–54Not published
55–6472% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
Higher education below degree!27%
A levels or equivalent!17%
GCSEs or equivalent!56%
Other qualifications!23%
No qualifications!32%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
Higher education below degree27% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent17% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent56% (small sample)
Other qualifications23% (small sample)
No qualifications32% (small sample)

Main employers: collection of non-hazardous waste (45%), general public administration activities (36%), other cleaning activities (34%), treatment and disposal of non-hazardous waste (16%).

How to get in

Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 56%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • sweeps pavements, gutters and roadways with hand broom or mechanical sweeper
  • collects litter using hand tools
  • transfers refuse into containers and empties public litter bins into containers.

Skills

  • carry out pressure washing activities
  • ensure compliance with waste legislative regulations
  • maintain cleaning equipment
  • maintain street sweeping machine
  • manage collected waste
  • operate mechanical street sweeping equipment
  • perform cleaning activities in an outdoor environment
  • use personal protection equipment
  • vacuum street debris
  • adapt to different weather conditions
  • carry out cleaning of road drains
  • clean confined spaces
  • complete report sheets of activity
  • drive vehicles

Knowledge

  • cleaning industry health and safety measures
  • discharge of collected waste
  • local geography
  • safe street sweeping procedures in traffic
  • graffiti removal techniques
  • mechanics
  • waste transport legislation

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary administration and service occupations, a group of 26 jobs that includes street cleaners.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 1.5%about 48,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351.5 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.